TACOMA – Oh boy. Here we go again.
That nightmarish thought invaded head coach Bob Wollan’s mind Saturday when his Pullman High football team quickly fell behind the Archbishop Murphy Wildcats and seemed in danger of repeating a painful experience.
Jennifer buchanan / The Herald
After losing a fumble on the first offensive play of the Class 2A state championship football game at the Tacoma Dome, Pullman watched Murphy score a quick touchdown and eventually zip to a 10-0 first-quarter lead. Murphy’s 10-spot represented the only points Pullman’s defense had allowed in the first quarter all season, but more importantly the rough start reminded Wollan of two years ago, when his wide-eyed Greyhounds suffered early from nerves in the 2A title game and fell 34-10 against Meridian.
Thankfully for Wollan, history didn’t repeat itself.
Pullman weathered Murphy’s opening surge, slowed down the Wildcats’ vaunted Wing-T running attack and rallied for a 28-24 victory that gave the Greyhounds their first state championship.
“We knew it was gonna take us awhile to get used to their speed,” Wollan said, referring mainly to Murphy running backs Stan Smith (146 yards, one TD) and Shiloh Keo (123 yards, two TDs). “They were everything that they were billed to be.”
Pullman countered with plenty of offensive pop, and in the long run Murphy didn’t bottle up two of the Greyhounds’ top weapons: receivers Ashton Gant (four catches for 87 yards and an 85-yard kickoff return for a TD) and Aaron Pflugrad (three catches, 101 yards, two TDs).
Despite regularly facing pressure from Murphy’s defense, Pullman quarterback JT Levenseller (204 passing yards, two TDs) stayed calm long enough to find Gant and Pflugrad in key situations. And Pullman’s passing game was at its best in crunch time: five of Levenseller’s eight completions came on third-and-7 or longer; one, a 36-yard TD pass to Pflugrad, came on fourth-and-5.
“You got a guy (Levenseller) who throws it well and you got guys (Gant and Pflugrad) who run real good routes,” Murphy coach Terry Ennis said. “We tried to put on pressure. We made some good plays (like Alex Burns’ first-quarter interception) and we gave up some big plays.” In the end, Pullman avoided a 2003 repeat with plenty of the latter.
Wrapped and ready: Archbishop Murphy tackle Taylor Metsker played Saturday’s game with a cast on his left hand, due to a broken bone suffered in last week’s game against Castle Rock. The cast was then wrapped with padding so that it was not a lethal weapon.
Had Metsker been a wide receiver, say, it would have been difficult for him to play with the bulky cast. “But he’s an offensive lineman, so he wasn’t supposed to use his hands anyway,” Ennis said.
College-bound: Smith had an impressive game, rushing for 146 yards on 23 carries with a 5-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Smith’s TD capped a nine-play, 63-yard drive, with the 5-9, 187-pound senior carrying on seven of those plays.
The Archbishop Murphy running back would like to continue playing in college. He said he has received recruiting letters from Arizona State University, but his hope is to attend Grambling State University in Grambling, La.
Smith’s father attended Grambling State “and I just want to go down there,” he said.
Going airborne: Murphy had thrown just 20 passes in 14 games entering Saturday’s championship, but the Wildcats opened things up a bit against Pullman by putting the ball in the air seven times. Murphy senior quarterback Mark Leone was 2-for-3 for 30 yards and Keo was 1-for-4. Keo threw what looked to be a sure 57-yard TD-pass to Smith early in the third quarter, but Smith was unable to haul it in. Leone, who was 3-for-12 for 57 yards entering the game, calmly completed a crucial third-and-13 pass over the middle to Burns for 19 yards during Murphy’s final scoring drive. “I was thinking ‘Don’t turn the ball over,’ ” said Leone, whose precise, outwardly confident throw masked his underlying fear of an interception. It was Leone’s first – and only – completion to Burns this season.
Beginning for the end: Murphy defensive end Ryan Bourke was one of just two sophomore starters for Murphy. Last season the 6-foot-3, 196-pound Bourke made a strong impression as the team’s most outstanding scout-team player.
“He always wanted to compete with the seniors and juniors,” Ennis said earlier this week. “He was dying to stick his nose in there.”
“He’s a tough kid,” Wildcats senior lineman Eli Wolff said of Bourke. “When he played on the scout team, he was the only one who enjoyed being hit.”
During the offseason Bourke added muscle and earned a starting spot on Murphy’s revamped defensive line. Bourke’s lack of experience has led to some mistakes, Ennis said, but the youngster is progressing well.
“He has a ton of potential,” Murphy assistant coach Austin Matson said. “He needs to shorten his long stride and get stronger. He’s got the frame and the mentality and the will to want to do things right, but he’s got a lot to get better at. The mental game is the most important thing with him.”
“Whatever we give him, he’s willing to do, which is awesome,” Matson said. “And he’s able to shake off bad plays and move on.”
Calming effect: Chris Hoerauf, a three-year starter and a senior co-captain for Murphy, said earlier this week he enjoys passing on his knowledge to younger teammates. It made a big difference for Murphy’s defensive line, where Hoerauf, a tackle, was the only returning starter and a reliable playmaker. On Saturday, Hoerauf finished his Murphy career in style by recovering a fumble, forcing another and making numerous tackles.
“He keeps everybody focused with staying on task,” Matson said earlier in the week. “He knows the huddles calls and he makes sure guys are calm in crunch-time situations. He’s seen a lot of things and he’s able to draw on that.”
Premium blend: Murphy’s coaching staff possesses a commanding combination of playing and coaching experience. According to Matson, Wildcats coaches maximize their impact because Ennis doesn’t limit them. “Nobody’s really set to one exact thing,” said Matson, who played linebacker for Ennis at Cascade High and was a defensive lineman at Washington State University. “Coach Ennis kind of uses all of us and all of our knowledge and doesn’t box us into one group. … He just kind of blends all of our (expertise) together.”
As a four-year varsity player who played a variety of defensive positions, Smith worked closely with all the coaches. He won’t soon forget their expertise and commitment.
“All of them are great coaches,” Smith said, “and (they came) in on Sundays and spent hours and hours looking at film and picking apart what (opponents) do.”
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